Quick Answer The best writer tattoos feature typewriters, quills, literary quotes, and book stacks — here are dozens of ideas sorted by style. I’ve wanted tattoos on my forearms or hands for a long, long time. I used to say, “I’ll get them done when I never have to consider getting a job or employment.”
There are a lot of authors who have no idea what to do with their website. And I’m not just talking about design (though I have in other posts, because it’s important). So I thought I’d raise the subject of reputation vs. relevancy, hopefully to clarify how people are finding you. Reputation If you build your
This month I published over 100 YouTube videos. I’m getting a little more confident, though I tend to ramble. In this one I discuss common self-publishing mistakes you should avoid that I see most indie authors screwing up. Here are some of the things I talk about. Ugly website Ugly book cover Spamming people Overprotective
This is a long post, because it’s about two very important things that are essential to your successful writing career. Part One Two things happened recently that you may not know about. Lewis Howes, pro athlete turned “School of Greatness” podcaster interviewed Anthony Robbins, to promote Tony’s new book, “Money...
I’ve written before about author websites but now that I’ve started making videos I can offer a more ‘hands-on’ approach. I volunteered to fix Randall Wood’s website, which was an eyesore: his books are already doing well but I knew he could be selling twice as much if he fixed up his website and his
Hands down, the best book marketing – virtually the only book marketing that is still effective – is growing your email list. To do that, you need a powerful optin offer. Optin offers have to be concrete, specific and give free value that your target readers desire. Recently I made a small change on mine:
Quick Answer Create 3D book cover mockups for free using DIY Book Covers’ mockup generator or Canva — no Photoshop required. (Updated May 2026.) UPDATE: After months of work, we’ve just launched the coolest online 3D book cover creator in the world. It’s amazing, and totally free. Go check it out! My graphic design...
Somebody asked me to recommend a book list recently so I did some searching and found a dozen or so lists of “best books for writers.” But few of them are very good. The majority just deal with the inspiration and motivation, to get you to actually start writing. The current pop culture ideology is
I got sucked into a novel yesterday, which I rarely do. The writing is great. Opening sentence: “In strewn banners that lay like streamers from a longago parade the sun’s fading seraphim rays gleamed onto the hood of the old Ford and ribboned the steel with the meek orange of a June tomato straining at
Recently Nick Stephenson and Joanna Penn have been talking about “reader magnets” – or list building by giving people a reason to follow you (usually a free ebook). This isn’t a new tactic, I’m pretty sure I stressed it in Book Marketing is Dead over a year ago, but I still see very few authors doing
Bestselling horror writers James Thorn asked for some design feedback on a logo he’s making. Something kind of scary, like this one from American Horror Story. This was his first attempt: Not bad, I can see what he’s going for. In general, bevel and inner shadow should be avoided. They look cool and 3D,
I’ve written a lot about book marketing. Some people read my books and learn how to do it right. Other people are lazy, so they just wait for any old offer to appear. Something I see being done far too often, is the invitation to write a guest post for a small blog with low
